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28/09: Way to Russia on Facebook
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You don't have to go as far as New Zealand to see this beautiful landscape. Just a 4-hour flight from London and you're at the Arctic Circle at the north of Russia. If you're looking for a real adventure on a budget, which feels like an escape to another planet, then this is the place to go.
03/03: Pics from Russia
Really nice collection of pictures made in Russia by travelling photohrapeher Andrew Moore.
http://www.andrewlmoore.com/view_project.php
http://www.andrewlmoore.com/view_project.php
This is continuation of Part 1: Ekaterinburg – Yakutsk (BAM). The travelers drove all the way from Ekaterinburg through BAM (Baikalo-Amurskaya magistral) to Yakutsk, through the icy and snowy roads where temperatures rarely went higher than minus 34 celcius, and finally reached a bridge to Tynda. The bridge was broken, so they decided to cross over the ice.
"After we passed about 10 kilometers pass Chilcha settlement, we made a 'pit stop' to add some diesel to the main tank from our canisters. Here we realized two things: the special antifreeze gel for diesel got frozen in the canister; the second, and the worst, thing was that the diesel itself in the task got also frozen...
(you can still see the old military outposts on this picture of BAM railway we passed along our way to Yakutsk)
While we've been thinking what to do next, a big Ural lorry with some railway workers appeared on the road. They offered to pull us back to Chilcha to their base, where we could warm up our cars and melt the ice in diesel.
"After we passed about 10 kilometers pass Chilcha settlement, we made a 'pit stop' to add some diesel to the main tank from our canisters. Here we realized two things: the special antifreeze gel for diesel got frozen in the canister; the second, and the worst, thing was that the diesel itself in the task got also frozen...
(you can still see the old military outposts on this picture of BAM railway we passed along our way to Yakutsk)
While we've been thinking what to do next, a big Ural lorry with some railway workers appeared on the road. They offered to pull us back to Chilcha to their base, where we could warm up our cars and melt the ice in diesel.
22/12: NEW YEAR CELEBRATION
2008 celebration stats (Bolshoy Gorod magazine)
79% of Russians ate mandarines while celebrating.
57% of Russians considered the night of December 31st the most important holiday in the year.
42% of Russians started to celebrate at 8 p.m.
79% of Russians ate mandarines while celebrating.
57% of Russians considered the night of December 31st the most important holiday in the year.
42% of Russians started to celebrate at 8 p.m.
A few weeks ago I got a book by a Dutch photographer Robert Knoth called Certicaat nr 000358. It's a photographic record of nuclear disasters' effects on people's lives in Ukraine, Russia, and Kazakhstan.
The pictures are really striking – and not only because they show the human aspect of tragedy. His photographs also somehow transcend photography. Normal people in everyday circumstances, but the things they have to deal with – and you can see it in their eyes – are from a different world. It's possible to analyze what happened, but it's impossible to understand it or to come in terms with it. The radiation did not only cause deformations in nature and humans, it is also causing deformation of psyche. The everyday reality cannot be comprehended and there's void in between.
Perhaps as a way to fill in this void I looked for eyewitness accounts from people who experienced nuclear disasters. They just describe what they've felt, seen, smelled and heard.
The pictures are really striking – and not only because they show the human aspect of tragedy. His photographs also somehow transcend photography. Normal people in everyday circumstances, but the things they have to deal with – and you can see it in their eyes – are from a different world. It's possible to analyze what happened, but it's impossible to understand it or to come in terms with it. The radiation did not only cause deformations in nature and humans, it is also causing deformation of psyche. The everyday reality cannot be comprehended and there's void in between.
Perhaps as a way to fill in this void I looked for eyewitness accounts from people who experienced nuclear disasters. They just describe what they've felt, seen, smelled and heard.
Welcome to the first post from our "Travelogues" photo series. Here we will publish interesting reports and photos sent to us by travelers from all over Russia.
The first one in the series is an epic journey made by Eugen Belayev and co (check out Eugen's blog – it's in Russian, but has lots of pictures). They drove through the whole country from Ekaterinburg through BAM (Baikal-Amur Railway) to Yakutsk (that's in the middle of Siberia) and back to Moscow in winter(!). Here's the first part of their journey.
"Our expedition started in Ekaterinburg, went through BAM railway area, to Yakutsk and back to Moscow. You can't normally get to Yakutsk by car (sane people fly there), but we were up for the challenge. The most interesting part of the journey started when we reached the road that goes along BAM railway
Almost the whole day we've been driving through Kalabar mountain range. The road goes right next to the cliffs at some point and there are very few villages along the way – almost none.
The first one in the series is an epic journey made by Eugen Belayev and co (check out Eugen's blog – it's in Russian, but has lots of pictures). They drove through the whole country from Ekaterinburg through BAM (Baikal-Amur Railway) to Yakutsk (that's in the middle of Siberia) and back to Moscow in winter(!). Here's the first part of their journey.
"Our expedition started in Ekaterinburg, went through BAM railway area, to Yakutsk and back to Moscow. You can't normally get to Yakutsk by car (sane people fly there), but we were up for the challenge. The most interesting part of the journey started when we reached the road that goes along BAM railway
Almost the whole day we've been driving through Kalabar mountain range. The road goes right next to the cliffs at some point and there are very few villages along the way – almost none.
10/12: The Result
17 years have passed since USSR collapsed and the reforms have started in our country.
However latest policy of gaining state control over economy through state controlled corporations brought some results.
In new Russia, state provides job for 48% of the national workforce (in USA the rate is 14%).
However latest policy of gaining state control over economy through state controlled corporations brought some results.
In new Russia, state provides job for 48% of the national workforce (in USA the rate is 14%).
Russian orthodox church offered to create patrol units, which would help police to keep the public order on the streets. This goes in line with a their general militant stance: a couple of years ago some orthodox priests were protesting against gays and you can often see them marching together with nationalists at parades.
(photo by Kommersant>
If you haven't read Sorokin's latest book "Sakharny Kreml" ("Sugar Kremlin") – you should. He's writing about Russian in 20 years time where the modern technology fuses with barbaric medieval customs reminiscent of Ivan the Terrible times. If the Russian church was given all the freedom it wanted I'm pretty sure Sorokin's stories wouldn't seem so fantastic.
(photo by Kommersant>
If you haven't read Sorokin's latest book "Sakharny Kreml" ("Sugar Kremlin") – you should. He's writing about Russian in 20 years time where the modern technology fuses with barbaric medieval customs reminiscent of Ivan the Terrible times. If the Russian church was given all the freedom it wanted I'm pretty sure Sorokin's stories wouldn't seem so fantastic.
Several newspapers today announced that Obama posted his first internet video address on YouTube, thus heralding the era of the new "digital" government.
Surprisingly enough, the Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has started doing exactly same thing already a month ago. If you go to the Kremlin site you can see all three addresses translated in English.
However, does it really mean that the government worldwide is becoming more "transparent"?
Surprisingly enough, the Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has started doing exactly same thing already a month ago. If you go to the Kremlin site you can see all three addresses translated in English.
However, does it really mean that the government worldwide is becoming more "transparent"?
Previous Posts
- Way to Russia on Facebook
- Escape Beyond the Arctic Circle
- Pics from Russia
- Driving by Car through Siberia. Part 2: Ekaterinbug - Yakutsk (BAM)
- NEW YEAR CELEBRATION
- Chernobyl Eyewitness Accounts
- Driving by Car through Siberia. Part 1: Ekaterinbug - Yakutsk (BAM)
- The Result
- Russian Church Wants to Patrol the Streets
- Medvedev Overtakes Obama in Hi-Tech Race
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